“Hotel Jerome? . . . I”ve been there . . . “

by bert on March 24, 2011

The Hotel Jerome is this cool old landmark of a place in the heart of Aspen. I hi-jacked some internet in the lobby there a few times when I was working Aspen a few years ago. It came up again today when I got on the chairlift with this guy, Zach Meyers. It turns out he’s the Director of Operations there and he was hanging out at Monarch for the day – and a good day it was.

Hotel Jerome – the premier Aspen hotel

I got to talking with Zach about how he found his way into such a great gig and about life in the quintessential ski town. Aspen is as cool a place to hang out as everything you’ve ever heard, and Hotel Jerome has been a part of all that coolness for over 120 years. The classic digs of swank and luxe, when you go to Aspen stop in and feel it, or better yet, check-in and live it.

Hotel Jerome . . . back in the day . . .

Hotel Jerome . . . a few years ago . . .

I pick-pocketed this from a spot that Aspen Magazine did about the history of the Hotel Jerome:

“Jerome B. Wheeler, who loaned $60,000 to innkeepers Bixby & Phillips to raise a grand hotel at what was then known as Jacob’s Corner, discovered the first rule of building in Aspen: it always costs way more than you planned. When the tally reached $150,000, the innkeepers disappeared in the night, leaving Wheeler with a stack of unpaid bills and one month until the grand opening in Thanksgiving of 1889.”

I love all that old history stuff about Colorado ski towns!

Zach, Hotel Jerome, and South America

It was one of those good days, skiing new snow on a Wednesday, meeting new friends, talking about ski adventures from the past and those yet to come. Zach had some good tales to tell about some of his trips to Las Lenas and Portillo which was all good info for me since those are a couple of Chile and Argentina spots that are on my list. If you’re in Aspen, stop in at Hotel Jerome, find Zach and share some stories.

Hotel Jerome: Home Of Good Times And Good Friends – The Place To Stay When You’re In Aspen